


A Stitch in Crime

by wistfulmemory



Series: NaNoWriMo 2018 [3]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-04
Updated: 2018-11-04
Packaged: 2019-08-17 07:52:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16512272
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wistfulmemory/pseuds/wistfulmemory
Summary: Superhero abilities can come from the most unique mediums...





	A Stitch in Crime

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by the prompt: "The local Seniors Center has free art classes, and one day you decide to try out cross stitch. That’s when you, a septuagenarian retiree with a boring life behind you, find out you have superpowers."

It had been a while since Cordula had tried out a new hobby, but she had been getting bored just sitting at home reading, watching tv, and taking random walks around her neighborhood. She had seen a flyer the last time she was at her library that talked about the free classes available at the Seniors Center, and since she did technically qualify as a senior (much to her displeasure), she decided to try it out.

There hadn’t been a schedule of the classes on the flyer, just days of the week and times, so when she arrived at the center, she discovered that today’s class was all about cross-stitching. Cordula almost turned around and walked straight back out because cross-stitching is what _old people_ did, but a lady by the door called out to her before Cordula could leave. Not wanting to seem rude, Cordula turned around with a smile pasted on her face and walked over to see what she would need to do in order to participate in the class.

Once she was set up with the required materials to use, some patterns to copy, and instructions to follow, Cordula got to work. It took her a few minutes to get the needle threaded and to figure out the logistics of going in and out to make the pattern, but once she got going, she started really enjoying herself. At the end of the class, she had made three small designs and had the desire to make more. The lady who had first greeted her, Doireann, told her that she could keep everything she had been given that day and that Cordula was welcomed back for the next month’s meet up.

The next morning after Cordula had eaten breakfast, she suddenly felt compelled to do some cross-stitching. While finding this strange, Cordula had nothing else planned for the morning, so she decided to do it for a little while. As soon as she touched her cross-stitching supplies, Cordula went into a trance. Five minutes later, she blinked, and awareness came back to her. Cordula looked down at her lap and saw a small but very detailed scene depicted in her cross-stitching. It was the local superhero battling the local villain, and the superhero was losing. Frowning a bit at it, she placed it on her end table and turned on the tv. Playing live on the screen was the scene she had just made. Shocked, Cordula stared in horror as the villain landed a blow that caused the superhero to drop unconscious. After loudly proclaiming his greatness, the villain preceded to steal all of the jewelry in the store he had been robbing when the superhero had attempted to stop him.

Cordula turned off the tv. She was not sure what to make of this. It just didn’t make sense, and Cordula didn’t feel like dealing with the potential consequences of this situation yet.

Several times throughout the day, Cordula felt the urge to cross-stitch, but every time she ignored the urge and purposely did something else. Finally, right before bed, she gave in and quickly did another very detailed battle scene. She refused to turn on the tv and just went to bed. The next morning, she checked the newspaper and saw the front-page picture looked exactly as her cross-work.

For the rest of the day, every time an urge came, Cordula stopped what she was doing and did a small, detailed cross-stitch. Then she would attempt to find news about the scene depicted. Some seemed to be happening in real time where others took her a few hours before news of them seemed to occur. They also were all based around the local superheroes and villains.

What should she do with this information? She was definitely too old to go out and fight crime herself, but she really didn’t think that the local superheroes would really believe her if she tried to tell them about her ability. Cordula decided that she would wait for the right time to contact them about this. She had a feeling her cross-stitch would tell her when this would be.


End file.
